Away
by imdeadsothere
Summary: Harry feels like he never sees Ron anymore, who's always away at his job with the Ministry. But when Ron gets hurt and winds up in St. Mungo's, Harry is starting to feel like their relationship might be saved. Until certain things come to light, that change everything. SLASH. ONE-SHOT. LANGUAGE. Slightly explicit moment, not in any detail really. M just to be safe.


He came home after a long day to an empty flat.

Harry sighed, dumping his bag and coat in the hallway before making his way to the kitchen. He checked the fridge for something to eat, but there was only a wilting head of lettuce and some left over Chinese food from last week. Harry closed the refrigerator and checked the cupboards; fortunately managing to find a can of tomato soup which he used magic to heat up proceeding to chug it down in a few gulps, straight from the can.

He tossed the can in the rubbish bin and then headed over to the sofa, tossing his shoes off he collapsed on it, grabbing the remote he turned on the telly. Some singing program was on. He only half paid attention. At half past midnight he crawled into his cold bed for another lonely night.

He was awakened by the smell of bacon.

Harry scrambled out of bed, sprinting into the kitchen, a huge grin spreading across his face.

"Ron!" Harry called, spotting the familiar red hair and tall gangly figure standing in his kitchen. Ron turned around just in time for Harry to crash into him, wrapping his arms around Ron's neck and kissing him on the lips. Ron smiled, and he could feel Harry smiling back against him as he wrapped his arms around Harry's waist, pulling him close.

"Hey," Ron said, when they finally pulled apart.

"Hey," Harry replied, resting his on Ron's shoulder, "you're back."

"Yeah, I've only got the day though."

"What?" Harry asked, pulling away slightly and looking up at him.

"Yeah, we were passing through on a mission and one of the teams we were supposed to meet up with is running late so the boss let us have the morning off to run home and visit out families."

"Just the morning?"

"I know it's not long, but it's all I can take, but don't think about that, I'm here with you now. And that's what matters."

"Yeah," Harry said, his voice so low it was barely above a whisper, "you're here with me now."

~.oOo.,.oOo.,.oOo.~

Later at work Harry found himself halfheartedly flipping through the patient records. Ron had left just an hour earlier, meaning that Harry was late to work but fortunately Harry's boss was pretty understanding and as soon as the words "Ron came home" left Harry's mouth his boss was waving him back to work telling him to floo next time.

"Hey Harry," one of Harry's coworkers, Nataly asked, coming up to him, "what are you doing?"

"Oh, a new patient came in with a severe wart problem. None of the usual methods are working so I'm checking the records to see if we've ever had something like it before and to see how we solved it then."

"Hm, that's a pretty good idea actually, wish I'd thought of that when I got stuck with that woman who thought she was a teacup, turns out we've dealt with it before. Anyway, I came here to talk to you, so," she sat down next to Harry, "I head Ron came back."

"How do you know?"

"Boss did, don't worry though, he's not telling everyone, just me, apparently you were late to work because Ron was home except that according to him you didn't look happy about it so he sent me to talk to you to see what was going on and to make sure you were okay."

"That's boss for you, always treating everyone like they're his own children."

"Well, some of us actually are," Nataly reminded, "anyway, what's going on?"

"Nothing much," Harry said, "oh hey, look at this file, this person had severe warts, looks like they solved it with… banana peels and duct tape…?"

"Don't change the subject on me, Harry."

"I'm not changing the subject, they really did solve this wart problem with banana peels and duct tape! It's a rather muggle cure though, isn't it? Not that there's anything wrong with muggle cures."

"Harry, you are changing the subject, we're not talking about cures for warts we're talking about you and your relationship with Ron."

"Our relationship is fine, I'm just kind of sad because I never see him anymore and slightly ticked off because he hardly ever tries to take time to see me. See, nothing big, now if you'll excuse me I have to get some banana peels and duct tape." Harry picked up his papers and quickly left before Nataly could drill him any further.

~.oOo.,.oOo.,.oOo.~

Harry was sitting at home later that evening, about to chomp down on a rather large spoonful of limoncello gelato when there was a knock on his door.

"Come in!" he called out. He heard the door open, followed a few seconds later by Hermione's voice.

"Hey Harry!"

"I'm in here!" Harry called back. Hermione arrived in the living room a few moments later.

"Harry, how are you?"

"Fine," Harry mumbled, taking a bite out of his gelato.

"What are you eating?" Hermione asked, snatching the container out of Harry's hands and reading the label, "limoncello, lemon gelato blended with vodka, you know you can't get drunk off of this, right?"

"Who said I was trying to get drunk off of it?"

"The three other empty containers of gelato on the coffee table did."

"Hey, those were from four days ago.

"Disgusting, does cleanliness mean nothing to you?" Hermione said, pulling out her wand and sending them to the rubbish bin. "Anyway, I came here to talk to you."

"Why does everybody want to talk to me?"

"Because we're all very worried about you."

"Okay, who told you?"

"Nataly did, we were meeting for our regular weekly tea and we started talking about politics and then we got talking about men and I was commenting on how it's annoying how all the good men are either gay or taken or both and she was like 'speaking of men who are gay and taken,' and you can probably figure out the rest."

"Can I at least have my gelato back?"

"Fine," Hermione said, handing him the gelato, "but you have to tell me what's going on between you and Ron."

"Nothing, besides Nataly probably already filled you in."

"Well, she filled me in on what little you told her but I want to hear it from you."

"There's nothing much else to tell."

"It really bothers you, doesn't it?"

"What?"

"That you hardly ever see Ron anymore."

"Yeah, a bit. But it's fine, Ron's really busy with his work and it's really important, I understand that, I mean, someone's got to catch the remaining Death Eaters."

"Oh Harry, it's okay to be mad at Ron for not spending time with you, yes, his job is important but there are lots of other people capable of performing the exact same job, Ron isn't the only auror in the world."

Harry took another bite of his gelato.

"Have you ever considered maybe just talking to him? I can help you figure out what to say. When's he coming back?"

"The 20th."

"Oh, that's not so bad, that's just a few days away."

"The 20th of May."

"Oh."

"Yeah, now you see what I have to deal with." Harry took another bite of gelato and leaned back on the couch, "I love Ron, but I wish I could actually love _him_, not just photos and memories of him because that's all I see of him anymore."

Hermione had nothing to say.

~.oOo.,.oOo.,.oOo.~

"You wouldn't believe it, but something as simple as banana peels and duct tape did the trick," Harry was telling Healer Pye a few weeks later.

"Thank you very much, Healer Potter. I will try to employ this method on a patient that just came in."

"Hope it works as well for you as it did for me," Harry replied. Healer Pye nodded and left, leaving Harry to continue sorting through their stock.

Granted, it could have all been done by magic, but Saint Mungos had a strict policy about using both magic and muggle means for just about everything, in order to avoid any mistakes. He got stuck with doing inventory of all their potions, the muggle way of course. He looked down at his list, he was barely a 3rd of the way though. What was next… dysentery draught, 6. He checked the shelves, counting six, and then put a checkmark on the list. Ear drops, 20. He counted twenty, check. Eating Disorder/Emergency Nutrition, 100. Oh great, he had to hand count a hundred. He reached 20 when Nataly burst in.

"Harry, you have to go, Ron's here!"

"I'm sure he can wait a little longer to see me," Harry replied, "I gotta finish counting…"

"No, I mean not here to visit," Nataly said, snatching the list from his hands, and grabbing him, trying to shove him out the door, "I mean _here_. He's hurt, I don't know how bad. Healer Derwent found me and told me to tell you seeing as you're listed as his 'next of kin'."

Harry froze. Literally. He swore he lost control of every muscle in his body at that moment.

"Harry!" Nataly shouted, quite literally slapping him out of it, "fourth flour, ward 7, go!" Harry blinked once, and then ran.

By the time he reached fourth floor he was breathing heavily, having decided to take the stairs. Usually the lift was faster, but Harry was pretty sure he'd never moved so fast in his life.

"Healer Potter! There you are!" Healer Derwent quickly approached him, Harry glanced behind the man, seeing two of Ron's colleagues standing by the door of ward 7. They both looked beaten up and shocked, but otherwise unharmed. He glanced back to Derwent.

"What happened? Is he alright? Is he going to be okay?"

"Calm down, Harry," Derwent said gently. And Harry knew this was something serious. No way would Derwent ever use his first name. Ever. Not unless he really felt it was absolutely necessary.

"What happened?" Harry asked quietly.

"Got caught in a magical trap," Derwent said. "It's pretty serious. As of right now, I don't know what's going to happen to Ronald, but I assure you we are doing our very best, and fortunately his colleagues got him here as quickly as possible, so his chances are about as good as they're going to get."

"Can I see him?"

"We're still working, and I'm afraid we cannot let anyone into the room. Not yet." Harry nodded, understanding. Even though he was a healer, this wasn't his area of expertise, and by going in there all he would do was distract the other healers at work. And that could mean life or death.

"I'll just wait here then," Harry said. Derwent nodded.

"Very well, thank you, and if the rest of his family arrives please inform them what I have told you. Now if you'll excuse me." Derwent left, heading towards the stores room. When he came back he had about 15 bottles piled into a basket. That was never a good sign.

Harry wandered over to Ron's two colleagues. He'd met them at a Ministry Christmas party last year, though he couldn't quite recall their names.

"Um, hullo," Harry said awkwardly. One of the two, the tall blonde one smiled gently.

"He's going to be okay," he said, putting a comforting arm around Harry's shoulders, and Harry really wished he could remember his name.

"What happened?"

"The death eaters had set a trap in front of their hideout. We thought we'd cleared out all the traps, but we missed it, Ron found it."

"Bad one?" Harry asked.

"Could've been worse," the man said, trying to stay as optimistic as possible. Though Harry had a feeling that was more for himself than for Harry's sake.

"I'm sorry," the second one said. He was shorter, dark haired, and of a very similar build to Harry. "I was the one who missed the curse when I was checking. I'm _really_ sorry." Harry just nodded, and said nothing. It wasn't until he thought back on it, that he got the sense there was something else the man was apologizing for, something Harry didn't know about.

Mrs. Weasley barged in moments later, and soon Harry found himself drowned in her hugs, tears, and worry. The two other aurors slipped out quietly sometime while he was distracted.

They didn't get much update, the healers were still working and Harry had only seen Derwent come out twice, including the time he'd talked to Harry. No one was really quite sure what the problem one, and he was pretty sure the healers weren't even sure what was going on. The fact that Derwent's second time out of the room had him returning barely a minute later with another potion filled basket confirmed it.

They weren't allowed to stay the night (though Harry was pretty sure that if he begged hard enough they would've at least let him stay) and so Mrs. Weasley dragged him back to the Burrow. Situating him in Ron's old room, which was still decorated with all his old Chudley Cannons posters. Harry lay there, staring up at them, and they just reminded him of Ron. He got up and went and curled up on the couch downstairs instead. Somehow sleep found him.

Harry was back at St. Mungo's bright and early the next morning, but not for work. Mrs. Weasley had told him that a floo had come in that morning telling him that due to "emotional distress" he was not to work today. Which suited Harry just fine, meaning he could instead spend his entire day sitting on a chair outside of Ron's room hoping for some news. None came, and that night he again found himself staring up at Ron's Chudley Cannons poster. Instead of sleep, he found only tears.

The next day news came that they'd finally managed to stabilize Ron. But that he had passed into a coma, and they were still working on identifying what was causing it, and exactly what it was doing.

Harry went and sat outside Ron's room anyway.

~.oOo.,.oOo.,.oOo.~

It was three weeks before Ron finally woke up. No one had been allowed inside all that time. Harry had been working when the news came. Reviewing the charts for his patients that day and making sure they were all filled out and correct. It was Nataly who had come running this time.

"Harry! He's awake!" Harry dropped the charts and ran.

Healer Derwent was standing outside when he arrived. He looked up, seeing Harry.

"How is he?" Harry demanded.

"Much improved, we finally located the cause last night, fixed it, and he woke up this morning. He is however still delirious and weak, and we're having trouble getting him to take an emergency nutrition potion. I was rather hoping you could help out with that."

"Of course, then… can I see him?"

"Go on in, we're limiting it to one visitor at a time right now, so when the rest of his family arrived you're probably have to leave."

Harry nodded vigorously, waiting for Healer Derwent to be done and as soon as he was Harry flung himself towards the room, trying to burst in as quietly as possible.

There Ron was, laying back on the bed, the sheets tucked in under his arms. Harry took a couple steps forward, barely even acknowledging the healer in the room. He looked down at Ron and had to use every ounce of willpower he had to keep himself upright.

Ron was deathly pale, his skin almost translucent, heavy breaths come through his chapped lips. His eyes were closed. Harry glanced up at the healer. He'd seen her around but didn't know her personally. She smiled lighty, and nodded at him.

"He's awake," she said, "you can speak to him if you like. See if you can get him to take his potion."

Harry looked back to Ron, whose eyes had opened at the sound of voices.

"Ron?" Harry said quietly. Ron's head moved slightly towards him, his eyes glancing around, trying to locate him. "Ron it's me," Harry said, moving to where Ron could see him. Ron's eyes found his, and the two just looked at each other for what felt like years but in reality was only seconds. Ron's hand shifted, moving so his palm was up, reaching out towards Harry.

Harry took another step closer and gently placed his hand in Ron's. Ron tightened his grip around Harry's hand. Harry tried hard not to cry, but a small tear escaped anyway. Ron had always had a strong grip, but now, it was a shadow of what it used to be, he wasn't really holding Harry's hand so much as molding his own hand so that it fit with Harry's. Ron's lips formed the tiniest smile and he closed his eyes again.

Harry stood there for the longest time, not wanting to disturb his rest. But… he glanced over to the table by the bed, where an emergency nutrition potion sat. Using his free hand he reached out and grabbed it, holding it in his hands, glancing down at the green, grimy liquid in the bottle. He'd been counting these when he'd heard Ron was hurt, and now here he was tasked with making sure Ron took one.

"Ron?" Harry said gently, just in case Ron was asleep. His eyes opened almost instantly, quickly fining Harry's. "Ron we need you to take this potion," Harry said, holding up the bottle in his hand, "it'll help you get better, okay?" Ron looked at him for a beat, before giving him the slightest of nods.

Harry popped the cork on the bottle, bringing it to Ron's lips. For a second he thought he wouldn't take it, but Ron's lips eventually parted, allowing Harry to tilt the bottle, pouring the liquid into Ron's mouth. Ron gulped it down, making a slightly unpleasant face. Harry knew it wasn't the best tasting stuff. Usually Healers took it when they had to work really long, and didn't have time for a proper meal. Once the bottle was empty, Harry set it back on the table, and Ron closed his eyes again.

"Wow," Harry nearly jumped, having forgotten the other healer was there, "you managed that rather easily."

Harry just nodded.

A few minutes later Healer Derwent came in, informing Harry that the rest of the Weasleys had arrived. Harry nodded, knowing that Mrs. Weasley was probably dying to see her son.

"Ron?" Harry said again, Ron's eyes opening immediately like before. "Ron I have to go." Ron's eyes widened, his grip on Harry's hand tightening ever so slightly. "It's okay, Ron. But they only allow in one person at a time, and your mum is here to see you. You want to see your mum, don't you?" Ron seemed to consider this for a moment, before relaxing, and letting his grip loosen again. Harry pulled his hand away, and leaned down to give Ron the softest peck on his cheek. "I love you," he whispered gently, and left.

He greeted the rest of the Weasleys except for Mrs. Weasley, who had rushed in the moment he'd come out. Then excused himself to head back to work. Nataly must've picked up his charts for him, as they all sat neatly organized where he'd left them. He picked up the top one, opening to the first page, and tried to loose himself in his work.

~.oOo.,.oOo.,.oOo.~

Harry spent as much time as he could with Ron, coming early and leaving late, and spending his breaks sitting at Ron's bedside. When Ron started speaking the first words he said to Harry were "I love you" followed by "I'm sorry". Harry cherished the "I love you" and tried not to overthink the "I'm sorry". Soon Ron was eating solid food, sitting up in bed, and eventually even walking. Harry himself had taken Ron out on a few strolls around St. Mungo's. They didn't talk much, just enjoy each other's company. And it was nice, Harry didn't miss the conversation too much. He hoped they'd have plenty of time for that. It was near when Ron was soon to be released when the other two aurors showed up. He knew they hadn't come before, because Ron's healer, whom Harry learned was called Healer Cavell, though by this point in time Harry just called her Aurora, had been informing him of everyone who came to visit. It had been mostly just family and friends, all people Harry knew plus a few other aurors, but not these ones.

Harry came up for his lunch break, having already started to dig into his salad on the lift up. He was mid bite when he stepped out of the lift to see the blonde auror standing there. The man jumped, clearly not expecting Harry to be there.

"Oh, hello!" he said, too quickly, "what are you doing here?"

"Uh… I work here?"

"Oh, right, sorry, my bad."

"You visiting Ron?"

"Yeah, I just saw him."

"Did your friend come?"

"Oh, yeah, he's in there now, I'm just waiting for him."

"You know they allow more than one person, right?"

"Of course, we were both in there, but he wanted to say a few extra things and anyway yeah."

"You know I never got your names."

"Oh, I'm Lucian Kramer."

"Weren't you in the paper last week? I totally read that name."

"Yeah, we caught twelve Death Eaters. It was kind of a big deal."

"That's why you haven't visited, then? Work?"

"Yeah…"

"And you friend?"

"Huh?"

"The other guy, black hair, little taller than me, what's his name?"

"Marcus Aldrich."

"He was in the article too."

"Yes, he was."

"So are you gonna let me get past you to see Ron?"

"Oh, right, of course," he said, but didn't move.

"Um, you're not…" Harry stepped sideways and Lucian moved with him.

"Oh, sorry," Lucian said, as if he'd just accidentally blocked him again. Harry's brows furrowed in confusion. He took a step in the other direction which Lucian also blocked. Harry opened his mouth to say something when the door to Ron's room opened and Marcus Aldrich came out. He saw Harry, his eyes widening in shock.

"Harry! What are you doing here?"

"He works here," Lucian answered.

"Oh, right, of course, well, c'mon Lucian, we'd better get going." Marcus grabbed the sleeve of Lucian's robe, quickly dragging him into the lift. Harry stared after them, trying to figure out what the hell he was missing? He gave up, shrugging, figuring it was nothing, and headed to Ron's room.

Ron's recovery was going remarkably well, and soon they discharged him to go home. And Harry of course had gone overboard, making sure the apartment was in pristine condition. He'd even bought a new couch. It was bright orange and clashed horribly with the rest of their sitting room décor but Harry could care less since it was Ron's favorite color. He'd also switched out the sheets to orange ones, leaving the white comforter and it actually looked kind of classy. He got his inspiration from all the time he'd spent in Ron's old room.

They discharged Ron at the end of the day, so that Harry could take him home, and Mrs. Weasley and Hermione came along too, of course. Everyone else was at the apartment waiting to surprise Ron.

"Ready to go home?" Harry asked, as he came into Ron's room at St. Mungo's that evening, finding Ron putting on his trousers.

"Ecstatic," Ron replied, grinning at him. Harry came over and sat down next to him on the bed while Ron finished up with his pants and then put on his shirt and a jacket. Harry had brought the clothes when he'd come to work that morning.

"Ready to go," Ron said, standing up. Harry grabbed his hand and they went out into the hallway where Mrs. Weasley and Hermione were. They took the floo back and Ron and Harry came into the apartment together to loud calls of "surprise!" Ron's eyes instantly brightened at seeing all of his family and friends there. Harry had invited just about everyone, even Lucian and Marcus, who were hovering at the back of the pack with a couple other aurors. But Harry didn't dwell on them, today was for Ron. Dinner was delicious, and after it was over they all went to the sitting room, Ron making a big show of how much he loved the new bright orange couch.

Eventually Harry lost track of who he'd spoken to and who he hadn't. At one point he even lost track of Ron.

"Hey, Hermione? Have you seen Ron?" Harry asked, grabbing her as she walked by.

"Last I saw he was with his auror friends," she replied. Harry went over to where the aurors were all gathered, none of them knowing where he'd gone off to. Harry sighed, well those guys didn't know where he was, but he hadn't seen Marcus and Lucian amongst them so maybe they knew. He glanced around, unable to locate either one. Maybe they went off to some other part of the apartment. Ron did love to show off his "research room" as he called it, where he'd set up the extra room in their two bedroom apartment with maps, and photos, and strings connecting everything. Talk about taking work home with you. Harry rolled his eyes, even at a party thrown in his honor Ron couldn't get away from work.

Harry headed for the hallway, running into Lucian who was coming out of the bathroom.

"Oh, hey, Lucian, do you know where Ron is?"

"I don't actually," Lucian replied.

"Oh, well, thanks, I'll just go check the rooms he's probably just showing off the spare room," Harry said, heading down the hallway.

"I wouldn…" Harry stopped, turning to look at Lucian, who seemed to be having an intense internal argument with himself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Lucian replied, "go find him, this has gone on long enough." Lucian turned and headed back towards the party. Harry stared after him. Could that guy get any more mysterious? He turned back towards the spare room, the door was locked, but a quick alohamora took care of that. He opened the door.

"Hey Ron are you…" Harry froze. Ron was here alright. And so was Marcus. On his knees in front of Ron you can guess what his mouth was doing.

"Harry…" Ron whispered, his eyes widening when he caught sight of Harry in the doorway. Marcus quickly stopped what he was doing, turning to face Harry.

"What the fuck is this?" Harry asked, his voice level, which was somehow more frightening than if he had yelled. Ron flinched. He quickly reached down, pulling his pants up and buttoning them.

"Harry let me explain," Ron quickly began.

"What is there to fucking explain?" Harry asked, his voice still level. "No wonder you never came to see me, you had your own little fuck buddy at work."

"That's not what this is," Ron said.

"Then what is it? Because I'm really confused as to how else you would explain having another man's mouth around your dick. Because if you have one, please, continue."

Ron had nothing, his mouth flapping open and closed like a guppy. "I…" he tried, "it was over."

"This doesn't look like over."

"He told me it was over when I visited at St. Mungo's," Marcus said quietly.

"Don't even fucking talk to me," Harry said, turning on him, his voice finally starting to rise. "Get the fuck out of my house and if I ever see your face again I will hex you into oblivion." Marcus quickly scrambled to his feet, fleeing the room, the house, and hopefully Harry's life. Harry turned back to Ron, who just looked like he was at a loss for words.

"I love you," Ron finally whispered.

"So do I," Harry replied, "but apparently that wasn't enough."

"I didn't… I won't…" Ron tried lamely, but Harry was having none of it.

He turned on his heel, and walked back to the party, Ron trudging along behind him. Harry stopped at the entrance to the hallway, glancing at all the people, all of them completely unawares of what had just happened. He pulled his wand out, casting a silencio over the crowd. They all turned to look at him.

"It's been lovely having you all here," Harry said, putting on his best smile, "but it's getting late and I'm afraid it's time for you all to leave." He released the spell. None of them seemed bothered by being asked to leave, they all quickly gathered their stuff, said goodbye to Ron and Harry and each other and slowly exited the apartment. Eventually just Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, and Lucian were left. Hermione and Mrs. Weasley both trying to help with cleaning up, Lucian hovering in a corner, eyeing Harry and Ron, trying to get the courage to approach.

"Mrs. Weasley, it's fine, I can get the cleaning. You go on home."

"Oh thank you dear," she said, giving him a big hug. She went over to Ron, giving him a big hug and forcing him to promise to come 'round tomorrow for tea.

Hermione on the other hand had picked up on the tension in the air. She glanced back and forth between Harry and Ron, though Harry said and did nothing until Mrs. Weasley had gone, closing the door firmly behind her.

"I could've told them you know," Harry said, not even turning to face Ron though it was clear who his words were meant for, "humiliated you in front of everyone. But I didn't. Because despite everything for some stupid reason I still love you." He turned to look at Ron who looked relieved. "And no, that's not forgiveness." The relief on Ron's face began to disappear. "Because you hurt me. You cheated on me. And I don't care how many excuses you give me that is something I will _never_ forgive."

He turned back towards Lucian. "You knew?" He nodded.

"Marcus told me, it was after he was hurt."

"So that's why you blocked the door."

"I only agreed to it because he told me he was planning on breaking it off."

Harry nodded.

"Fine, anything else to say?" Lucian shook his head.

"Then go." Lucian quickly left the apartment. Harry turned towards Hermione. Her portrayed a medley of emotions, shock, horror, hurt…

"Get him out of here," Harry said. "I don't care where you take him. I'll pack his stuff up tonight, if you could please come by and get it for him in the morning." Hermione nodded.

"I can…" Ron began.

"No you can't," Harry snapped, "because I don't want you within 50 meters of this apartment ever again. Hermione will pick up your stuff, and give it to you, after that, I'm done with you."

"Come on, Ron," Hermione said, grabbing Ron's arm and pulling him towards the door. Ron looked like he was struggling for something to say.

"I'm sorry," Ron finally said, turning around just as he left the apartment. Harry wanted to cry out. That was it. That was the fucking I'm sorry. First Marcus when Ron was first hurt, then when Ron started speaking. Fucking I'm sorry.

"So am I," Harry replied. And closed the door in his face.

~.oOo.,.oOo.,.oOo.~

AN. Wow. That was totally not how I expected that story to go. You're probably thinking "but you wrote the story!" Well, that tells you a little something about how I write. I originally intended "forgiveness" and "happily ever after" but then I was like "NO!" I've done the forgiveness and happily ever after fics but I needed one where no forgiveness was given. Because I tend to believe that's the best response to cheating. Especially since Ron cheated on him multiple times. Like seriously, jerk!

And if you're wondering what happens after, well, that's for you to decide.

In my mind Harry and Ron never get back together, Ron and Marcus continue their fling but end up breaking it off later (it wasn't love, just lust). Harry destroys the orange couch and the orange bed sheets and everything in the spare room and answers a roommate ad, eventually living with a shopkeeper in a small apartment above the man's shop in Diagon Alley. He and the shopkeeper (he doesn't have a name, but he's young, blonde, and handsome) eventually fall in love and live happily ever after.

But if you see it as continuing on differently, let your imagination run wild!


End file.
